still from Loves of a Blonde, 1966 (dir. Milos Forman)

Happy Valentine’s.

Popularity: 21% [?]

still from Office Baroque, 1977 (16mm, color, sound, 44 minutes)
© Gordon Matta-Clark

For those of you interested in the work of Gordon Matta-Clark, you’ll be happy to find that a number of his films are available on UbuWeb. I believe the video of Splitting, Bingo/Ninths, and Substrait (Underground Dailies) (1974-1976) was added just yesterday.

See them all here.

Popularity: 34% [?]

Earth-rise, November 3, 2007
© JAXA/NHK

Earth-set, November 3, 2007
© JAXA/NHK

The Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) announces 3D HD images of the Earth both “rising” and “setting” as seen from the moon explorer Kaguya.

(via TEDBlog)

Popularity: 20% [?]

John Gossage and Martin Parr drive around Memphis taking photographs
still from The Genius of Photography, Episode 4

Not long ago, Andrew Hetherington posted about Ovation TV’s running of the six part BBC4 series The Genius of Photography. It looks as though the series has become very popular, as it has been sold to ABC (Australia), Ovation (USA), Ontario TV and the Knowledge Network (Canada), VRT (Belgium), Canal+ (Poland), HBO Spektrum (Hungary & Czech Republic), and Sogecable (Spain).

I finally was able to sit down and watch a bit of it.

I went for Episode 4, “Paper Movies,” which touches on Martin Parr, John Gossage, Gary Winogrand, Robert Frank, Willian Klein, Weegee, Joel Meyerowitz, Lee Friedlander, Tony Ray Jones, Ed Rushca, William Eggleston, Stephen Shore, Joel Sternfeld, Juergen Teller, and Robert Adams.

Notice anything?

It’s true… no female photographers made the cut, except for a brief Diane Arbus name-drop. Here’s a breakdown (via Knautia):

...out of the people interviewed, there were 10 male photographers, 4 male writers, 1 male curator, 1 male publisher/collaborator, 1 male artist and 2 men who asked questions of William Eggleston. Compared with 1 female curator (discussing a man’s work), 1 woman who was married to a photographer, 1 woman asking for William Eggleston’s autograph, 1 woman who asked him a question and 1 woman interpreting questions for him.

This was entirely unfortunate, to say the least. For a program which sells itself as a “guide” to photography’s history – given, it is a pretty male-dominant history – you’d think there would be room for the acknowledgment of female contribution.

That aside, the episode was decent; nothing special, but certainly enjoyable to watch. I’ll have to see the rest of the installments to get a real sense.

If you don’t have cable, like myself, you’re in luck. Episodes 1-6 can be downloaded in their entirety online thanks to this website:

Episode 1: Fixing the Shadows
Tracks the first attempts to make images permanent and the mass appeal that the invention of Kodak created.

Episode 2: Documents for Artists
After World War One the potential of photography attracted the attention of artists and governments alike.

Episode 3: Right Time, Right Place
Examines the photographs of D-Day, the Holocaust and Hiroshima raising questions about history as seen through the viewfinder.

Episode 4: Paper Movies
Charts the golden age of ‘photographic journeys’ and how the use of colour slowly became a credible medium for ‘serious’ photographers.

Episode 5: We Are Family
Having conquered the street and the road, photographers approached the final frontier: the home, the self, and private life.

Episode 6: Snap Judgments
Shows how photography has become part of the art world where a single image can cost $2.9m and, in the digital world, where all images are possible.

Enjoy!

For those of you who have seen more of the episodes than I, do you have any thoughts? A favorite feature?

UPDATE 11/28/07: If you’d rather download the torrents, they’re all here (thanks Jane).

UPDATE 12/01/07: The videos are now available on YouTube.

Popularity: 24% [?]

still from Orson Welles’ F For Fake, 1974

Orson Welles is generally known for his 1938 radio broadcast of the science fiction novella War of the Worlds. If not for that, then for co-writing, directing, producing and starring in Citizen Kane (1941), commonly referred to as “the greatest film ever made.” Orson Welles is, however, not so known for his last major film, F For Fake (1974) – a pseudo-documentary and playful meditation on “art, experts and fakery.” Here’s a quick synopsis taken from The Criterion Collection (released the film on DVD in 2005):

Trickery. Deceit. Magic. In Orson Welles’ free-form documentary F for Fake, the legendary filmmaker (and self-described charlatan) gleefully engages the central preoccupation of his career—the tenuous line between truth and illusion, art and lies. Beginning with portraits of world-renowned art forger Elmyr de Hory and his equally devious biographer, Clifford Irving, Welles embarks on a dizzying cinematic journey that simultaneously exposes and revels in fakery and fakers of all stripes—not the least of whom is Welles himself. Charming and inventive, F for Fake is an inspired prank and a searching examination of the essential duplicity of cinema.

The critical reaction to F for Fake ranged from praise to confusion, with many (especially in Welles’ home country) finding the work to be “indulgent” and “incoherent,” rejecting it on these grounds. But over the years, the film has grown to be not only widely accepted but also considered a classic.

I loved the film for the avant-garde editing, with short cuts (almost by the second) throughout. Never before have I seen a “documentary” assembled in this fashion and never would I imagine it working so well. Additionally, film’s story and underlying themes held my attention.

“It’s pretty but is it art?,” asks Welles. “How is it valued? The value depends on opinion, opinion depends on the expert, a faker like Elmyr makes fool of the experts – so who’s the expert? Who’s the faker?” The film questions whether or not it matters that a work of art is “fake” if it’s still a masterpiece, made by hand. And furthermore, as Welles’ narrates,

Our works in stone, in paint, in print, are spared, some of them, for a few decades or a millennium or two, but everything must finally fall in war, or wear away into the ultimate and universal ash – the triumphs, the frauds, the treasures and the fakes. A fact of life: we’re going to die. “Be of good heart,” cry the dead artists out of the living past. “Our songs will all be silenced, but what of it? Go on singing.” Maybe a man’s name doesn’t matter all that much.

For those of you who have already seen the film, here’s some further reading. Otherwise, see it!

Popularity: 17% [?]

L: Untitled, 2001 R: Untitled, 2001
© Tierney Gearon

Jack Youngelson and Peter Sutherland’s film The Mother Project (2006) takes a close look at photographer Tierney Gearon and her complicated relationship with her schizophrenic mother. For those of you unfamiliar with the film or Tierney’s photographs, here’s a brief description:

Photographer Tierney Gearon creates work that has been called manipulative, disturbing, and even perverse. A former model and dancer, Gearon came to notoriety in 2001 when, in the “I Am a Camera” show at London’s Saatchi Gallery, photos of her own naked and masked children had authorities threatening child pornography charges. Filmmakers Peter Sutherland (Pedal) and Jack Youngelson (producer, Ghosts of Abu Ghraib) follow this exceptional artist over the course of three years as she assembles her most daring and emotionally complex body of work to date: a series on her manic-depressive schizophrenic mother, who resides in Grey Gardens squalor in the frozen suburbs of upstate New York. The mixture of art and family can, at times, be too close for comfort, but like many of Gearon’s photographs, a subversive beauty emerges between ordinary moments and madness. Tierney Gearon: The Mother Project is a moving portrait of an artist, her inspirations, and her unconventional family relationships.

Also, on the film’s official website, you can view the trailer.

L: Untitled, 2001 R: Untitled, 2001
© Tierney Gearon

Since I love Tierney’s photographs (especially the work with her mother), I hoped to see film when it was first screened in New York for the 2006 Tribeca Film Festival. After I missed it there, I wondered if I’d ever have another chance.

Well, it turns out that the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston is holding a series of screenings of The Mother Project in the Remis Auditorium throughout the month of November – the first of the screenings was held yesterday afternoon with Tierney present. According to the website, she will be also present for tonight’s screening at 5:30 pm. If you can’t make it tonight, here are the following dates for your calendar:

Thursday, November 8, 2007, 2:15 pm
Saturday, November 10, 2007, 10:30 am
Friday, November 23, 2007, 3 pm
Sunday, November 25, 2007, 10:30 am

The photographs that Tierney made for this project, along with the photographs she makes with her children, can be found in her beautiful monograph Daddy, Where are You?, published in August by Steidl. And, though it hasn’t been updated in some time, there are also a few images to be found on her website.

Popularity: 15% [?]

Untitled, 1971 (from “Tulsa”)
© Larry Clark

Somebody took some time to archive their VHS copy of the Larry Clark documentary Great American Rebel (2003) on YouTube. The documentary, broken into six parts, features clips from most of Larry’s films and quite a lot of insightful conversation (some of which touches on his photographic work). The recording could be better but it’s decent enough to watch, nonetheless.

Part 1 of 6 (9:59)

And here are the rest:

Part 2 of 6 (9:42)
Part 3 of 6 (9:52)
Part 4 of 6 (9:11)
Part 5 of 6 (9:39)
Part 6 of 6 (8:44)

Popularity: 31% [?]

Det Perfekte Menneske (The Perfect Human) is the 1967 short film by Danish filmmaker Jørgen Leth. Though it’s one of Leth’s first, it seems to be the film for which he is most well known. Unfortunately there are no subtitles in the only full version I could find online so for those of you that don’t understand Danish the most wonderful line that you should know is, “Also, today I experienced something that I hope to understand in a few days.”

I’ll admit, I first discovered this film through De Fem benspænd (The Five Obstructions), released in 2003. In this film, Lars von Trier challenges Leth to not only revisit but also recreate The Perfect Human in five different ways. I’ve heard mixed reviews about this film – the negative responses are often from people who believe it was an insult to Leth to ask him take part in such a game – but I thought it was interesting to see a film classic reconsidered.

Here is the first of the five obstructions, The Perfect Human: Cuba. As you’ll notice, one of the limitations was that the film could only use 12 frames per shot.

Decide for yourself. And do watch these films at higher quality if you can. I believe The Five Obstructions DVD comes with the full-length version of The Perfect Human as an extra.

Popularity: 10% [?]

still from Wes Anderson’s Hotel Chevalier, 2007

Wes Anderson fans who just can’t wait for this weekend’s release of The Darjeeling Limited will be happy to discover that they can now get a taste of what’s to come with Hotel Chevalier – a 13-minute short film (and prequel to The Darjeeling Limited) staring Natalie Portman and Jason Schwartzman as estranged lovers sharing an intimate moment in a Paris hotel room.

Wes Anderson is genius. Natalie Portman is beautiful.

Download and watch it for free here (must have iTunes installed).

Popularity: 7% [?]

Get a whiff of the new Gucci by Gucci.

Popularity: 17% [?]